ng, lips parted. She
raised her hands high above her head, then brought them down to her
sides again with an unconsciously dramatic gesture that expressed
triumph, peace, content, relief, accomplishment, and a great and deep
satisfaction. T. A. Buck, in the doorway, saw the gesture--and
understood.

"Not so bad to get back to it, is it?"

"Bad! It's like a drink of cool spring water after too much champagne.
In those miserable South American hotels, how I used to long for the
orderliness and quiet of this!"

She took off hat and coat. In a vase on the desk, a cluster of yellow
chrysanthemums shook their shaggy heads in welcome. Emma McChesney's
quick eye jumped to them, then to Buck, who had come in and was
surveying the scene appreciatively.

"You--of course." She indicated the flowers with a nod and a radiant
smile.

"Sorry--no. The office staff did that. There's a card of welcome, I
believe."

"Oh," said Emma McChesney. The smile was still there, but the radiance
was gone.

She seated herself at her desk. Buck took the chair near by. She
unlocked a drawer, opened it, rummaged, closed it again, unlocked
another. She patted the flat top of her desk with loving fingers.

"I can't help it," she said, with a little shamed laugh; "I'm so glad
to be back. I'll probably hug the forewoman and bite a piece out of
the first Featherloom I lay hands on. I had to use all my self-control
to keep from kissing Jake, the elevator-man, coming up."

Out of the corner of her eye, Emma McChesney had been glancing at her
handsome business partner. She had found herself doing the same thing
from the time he had met her at the dock late in the afternoon of the
day before. Those four months had wrought some subtle change. But
what? Where? She frowned a moment in thought.

Then:

"Is that a new suit, T. A.?"

"This? Lord, no! Last summer's. Put it on because of this July
hangover in September. Why?"

"Oh, I don't know"--vaguely--"I just--wondered."

There was nothing vague about T. A. Buck, however. His old air of
leisureliness was gone. His very attitude as he sat there, erect,
brisk, confident, was in direct contrast to his old, graceful indolence.

"I'd like to go over the home grounds with you this morning," he said.
"Of course, in our talk last night, we didn't cover the South American
situation thoroughly. But your letters and the orders told the story.
You carried the thing through to success